India will face England ina three-match ODI series
Photo : AP
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Sarfaraz Khan found a place in the team
- Rishabh Pant was left out
- India will play England at Cuttack, Nagpur, and Ahmedabad
Before flying to Dubai for the 2025 Champions Trophy, the Indian cricket team will prepare for the mega event with a three-match ODI series against England from February 6 to 12. This will be the only ODI series the Men in Blue will before the mega event and their first assignment in the format since a series against Sri Lanka in July.
Apart from the exception of Jasprit Bumrah and possibly fellow pacer Mohammed Siraj, the team that is picked for the Champions trophy is also expected to play the three ODIs against England which are scheduled to take place in Nagpur, Cuttack, and Ahmedabad.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar picked his squad for the series and made a bold call and left out Rishabh Pant from the 15-man squad. The cricket-turned-commentator picked KL Rahul as his first-choice gloveman while named Sanju Samson as his back-up. He also named Dhruv Jurel as a potential pick for number five.
"Can't we pick Dhruv Jurel? Because he has that Test game. In case of a top-order collapse, we need someone who can stabilise the innings at No. 5. Well, I'm just trying to create options, but Rahul will be the first-choice option," said Manjrekar to Star Sports.
"I have been a good believer in Samson. Yes he wasn't scoring runs initially and maybe he isn't a fit down the order. But if India want a big hitter for the last 10 overs...and yes I agree with Bangar (Sanjay Bangar) on Pant," Manjrekar also said.
Manjrekar made an 'out-of-the-box' suggestion and picked Sarfaraz Khan in his team as a reserve player for the number four role while calling for the team to move past Suryakumar Yadav in the format.
“I want to give an out-of-the-box suggestion by naming Sarfaraz Khan. He is unstoppable. He has that ideal ODI batter. At No. 4, I will have Shreyas Iyer. I would rather want to move away from Suryakumar Yadav and want him for T20Is alone as a specialist. I wouldn't mind someone like Tilak Verma at No. 5,” said Manjrekar.
Sarfaraz is yet to play an ODI for India and has never been part of the squad in the format. In his career, the 27-year-old has played 37 List A matches and scored 629 runs at an average of 34.29.
The ex-Indian batter also picked Yashasvi Jaiswal in his squad which had not specialist bowlers in the reserves with a place for both Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja.
Sanjay Manjrekar's India Playing XI for England ODI series: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami.
Reserves: Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan.
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